Activities Archive

Three-Month Study Attachment on Rural Development

In order to support the NPC’s mandate to promote rural development, the Parliamentary Centre, in conjunction with the University of Guelph Department of Rural Planning and Development (RPD), hosted a study attachment to Canada for two staff members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the National People’s Congress. The theme of the study visit has been identified as “Legislative and Policy Analysis to Support Rural Development”. The purpose of the learning program is to acquire knowledge of foundation-level theories and concepts underlying rural planning and development while synthesizing practical expertise and analytical tools that can be incorporated into the legislative and policy framework on rural issues.

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Strengthening the Parliamentary Role in Budgetary Oversight

As the People’s Congress system in China recently stepped up its efforts to increase transparency and accountability in government spending decisions, the Parliamentary Centre is offering access to Canadian expertise for building oversight mechanisms into the budgetary cycle. Look at what have been achieved through the two exchanges activities organized in 2006 that involved knowledge transfer to the budgeting staff of the national and provincial People’s Congresses:

June 12-18: Study visit to Canada for budget staff of the NPC and selected Provincial People’s Congresses on integrating performance information into the budget decisions.

November 27 – December 4: Technical exchanges with budget staff units of the selected Provincial People’s Congresses.

A Growing Appetite for Strengthening Public Engagement in China

The Year 2006 marked a heightened interest of the National People’s Congress to improve the practical mechanisms and techniques to empower the participatory role of citizens in the legislative process. The Parliamentary Centre is pleased to contribute to this endeavor by offering access to specialized expertise and best practices gained from a number of successful consultation exercises in Canada, through two learning activities organized in China and Canada:

July 2006, Beijing - An international workshop in Beijing brought together some consultation facilitators in the People’s Congress system and international experts to compare practices, trends and lessons learned from consultations undertaken in different policy contexts. Read more…

August –October 2006, Canada - The Centre hosted a three-month study attachment for two researchers from the NPC to participate in a comprehensive learning program comprising of site visits, interviews and conferences with leading consultation specialists from across Canada. Read more…

Applying Participatory Model in Food Safety Regulation and Rural Development

From November 22 – 30, 2005, the Parliamentary Centre, as part of the 2005-2006 Annual Workplan of the CCLCP Project, organized a study visit to Canada for a senior delegation from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the National People’s Congress. While in Canada, the Committee staff were exposed to an overview of Canada’s participatory approach to food safety administration and rural development. Read More…

Helping to Construct an Enabling Corporate Environment in China: Contribution of Canadian Expertise

From September 6-13, 2005, the Parliamentary Centre organized a study visit to Canada for a senior delegation from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC and Provincial People’s Congresses. Planned a s part of the CCLCP Project, this visit was facilitated to assist with the overhaul of the existing Corporations Law of China, which was adopted 12 years ago, in order to reflect the changing business environment in the wake of China’s WTO accession. The main purpose of this study visit was to provide the Chinese legislative drafters with an opportunity to gain first-hand Canadian experience in regulating corporate affairs within the market economy context. The delegation met with a variety of government agencies, private corporations, legal professionals and, as a result, acquired knowledge and awareness to consider a broad range of ramifications and perspectives when conducting legislative analysis.

The Parliamentary Centre Report ( English)
The NPC Report ( Chinese)

Cooperatives Revisited in a Rural Development Context

From September 3-24, 2005, two staff managers of the Agriculture Committee of the NPC embarked on a three-week mission to a number of regions in Canada including Saskatoon, Montreal, Ottawa and Guelph. While in Canada, the two delegates met with government agencies involved in the policy-making process in agriculture and rural development at both the federal and provincial levels. They exchanged experiences and views regarding a wide range of legislative and policy issues related to rural development, citizen engagement, gender equality and parliamentary committee work. Visits to various examples of farms and cooperatives were also arranged to offer visual perspectives on the impacts of laws and policies. The visit of these NPC participants in Saskatoon and Montreal were part of a bigger study mission consisting of members of the legislative taskforce on the Cooperatives Law from other departments, including the Agriculture Ministry, Development Research Centre of the State Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The Parliamentary Centre Report ( English)

Broadening Popular Basis of Law: Public Consultation Revisited

In June 2004, the Parliamentary Centre organized a seminar on public consultation in Beijing with the Research Office of the National People’s Congress and Provincial People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. The seminar saw strong interest from the Chinese legislative researchers in exploring the dynamics and procedural arrangements of public consultation and measures to follow up on consultation findings. Following up on the discussions, in June 2005, the Parliamentary Centre hosted a study visit to Canada for a group of senior researchers from the NPC and Provincial People’s Congresses to meet with their Canadian counterparts and exchange experiences on the public consultation process. More details

Promoting the Cooperative Model in Rural China: Legislators in Action

The emergence of a new generation of farmers’ cooperatives in China’s rural areas in the recent few years has offered a promising way of collective production and management in the agricultural sector. By enabling members to share resources democratically, the cooperative model holds the hope to invigorate rural communities economically and socially. A team of Canadian experts in agriculture and cooperatives embarked on a technical mission in China to help local legislators draft a new law that defines and describes the registration process and governance structure for co-operatives. For more information, click here.

Holding Government to Accounts – Steps to Start

From March 14-20, 2005, senior managers of the Budget Affairs Commission of the National & Provincial People’s Congress of China visited Canada on a study mission that allowed them to exchange experience with their Canadian counterparts involved in budget review and oversight. The delegation visited Victoria and Ottawa and met with a variety of government officials, parliamentarians and staff, and auditing officials at both the federal level and in the province of British Columbia. The main purpose of this Study Visit was to provide the delegates an opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experience on the planning, implementation and oversight policies in place in the Canadian and British Columbia Legislatures as they relate to the overall Canadian Budget Process. Final Report

First-year Workplan Consultation Completed

The first workplanning mission for the China-Canada Legislative Cooperation Project (CCLCP) took place in Beijing from February 24-28, 2005. Representatives from the Parliamentary Centre held a number of meetings with various Chinese project partners in order to finalize the Annual Workplan for the following year. The meetings saw active discussion and interaction on a wide range of issues that are significant to the delivery of project-related activities throughout the project. These issues included the timing of activities, the selection of topics and participants, the integration of cross-cutting themes and cost-sharing arrangements. Most of these issues were clarified during the discussions and agreement has been reached with the Chinese executing agency on follow-up steps to jointly coordinate the implementation of project activities.

Roundtable with Academics in Beijing on “Political Civilization”

Director of the Institute of Political Science of CASS making opening remarks at the roundtable, July 2004, Beijing

On the afternoon of July 15, 2004 (Thursday), the Canadian delegation attending the Symposium with the NPC Research Office in Beijing met with a small group of local academics in political science and law. The meeting was organized by the Institute of Political Science of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and chaired by Prof. Jiang Jinsong of the Institute. Through close discussion, a number of governance-related concepts emerging recently in China were clarified and a broad picture of the country’s political reform was presented. Full Report

The Sino-Canadian Symposium on “Public Participation in the Legislative Process”

Participants in the Symposium on “Public Participation in the Legislative Process”, July 2004, Beijing

As the inaugural activity of the Project, a symposium was organized in July 2004 by the Parliamentary Centre in collaboration with the Research Office of the NPC Standing Committee. Focusing on the theme of “public participation in the legislative process”, the symposium brought together about 25 experts from both China and Canada, all having considerable exposure to citizen engagement in either theory or practice. Following the Symposium, Canadian experts were invited to pay a field visit to the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress and to provide technical assistance for the organizers of the first legislative hearing in the history of the Chinese national capital.